


Just a Regular Night

by pewpewdragons (Nyoona)



Series: Pergamon Guard [4]
Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Gen, Guards, one night at work, somewhat normal with just a sprinkle of strange, thieves and drunks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 12:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11782953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyoona/pseuds/pewpewdragons
Summary: Let's follow what a night shift at the Guard is like! Drunks, thieves, troublesome children... and one creepy weirdo.





	Just a Regular Night

**Author's Note:**

> I rated this as teens and up since Orestes is quite casual with his thoughts about his second career. Nothing explicit but it does get mentioned a few times.  
> Also, Cracks on the Masks is going to continue, and soon I hope. But I needed a break from it as I wasn't getting anywhere. I now know where I'm going with it but I did have to make the decision to add one more chapter to the whole thing.

Orestes was way early for his shift change with Toma but today had just been mind-numbingly boring. He had been feeling vaguely anxious about something and wished he could have taken some of that nervous energy out with his trident, but their training field had of late been invaded by a bunch of fledgling gatherers, in to learn some necessary fighting skills before actually being allowed to venture out to the shambling ruins and murky woods surrounding their new home at Shadowbinders territory. Even their regular drills were mostly on hold for the time being as captain was too busy with the task of teaching.

He and Toma were switching at the marketplace today so that there would be no gap on the Guard presence there. A caravan of traders had arrived at the Keep and that always caused more troubles than on any usual night. More thieves and drunks. Orestes was waiting for the sundown by the Keep’s main entrance. Or what counted as a sundown in this damn place. The constant darkness of the day was oppressive already, but then it turned pitch black during night time. The marketplace was the best place to be as it was always brightly lit. Orestes much preferred it to the darkness of that part of his rounds that took him outside. The roads and pathways there had been lit with planted mushrooms but their faint glow only showed where to step. Nothing was visible outside that and it was unnerving, having only his ears and nose to rely to. But who knew, maybe if this night was busy enough, he could just be _forced_ to skip the rounds outside. _Would not mind that at all,_ he thought, just as the bell for sundown rang and Toma landed next to him.

“How are you on time?” Were the first words out of her mouth. The bright orange Nocturne folded her wings with a snap, removed her helmet, and looked at him with her usual annoyed expression.

“Bored,” he shrugged.

“I hope the rest of your life will be boring then,” she replied dryly, continuing before he could come up with a good comeback, “Drunks are early today. There’s still some room at the sobering cells but not much so you’d better send as many home as possible.”

“Is anyone looking after them tonight?” Orestes asked while thinking that Toma had probably filled the cells on purpose. She did love to make his life more difficult every chance she got.

“Yeah, a healer from the Aurigae is there. One of the senior ones so he won’t fall asleep like the last one.”

Orestes chuckled. The volunteer last time had been a first timer, a young Spiral. She had been even more energetic than her breed usually was, and very nervous. Poor thing had probably exhausted herself early, constantly fretting over her patients. She would need to learn to pace herself if she wished to have any future in the profession.

“Any actual injuries? Or just terrible hangovers looming in the future?”

“I had to persuade some of them a bit more than the others,” Toma admitted with not a hint of regret on her voice.

 _So she bashed some heads in. Should have guessed._ Toma had very little patience for any behaviour she deemed immoral and didn’t much bother negotiating. Orestes had to admit that she was very effective, but—

“I wish you wouldn’t make everyone hate the Guard so much. No one’s going to join us like this,” he mumbled a complaint. And it was exactly the wrong thing to say.

“ _Me?_ Make everyone hate us? Do I need to remind you that it was _your_ dear friend Adhara who got us into this shit!” She hissed. Orestes winced as the Nocturne rarely cursed. He had really pissed her off. “And there are dragons out there, good and honest dragons willing to join us, and for the right reasons!” She nearly spat at him.

 _They’re not exactly lining up at out gate though,_ he wanted to object but thought better of it. Toma hated him enough already, no use stoking up that fire. And she was right about Adhara. She had abused her position horribly, it being the reason they were generally regarded with suspicion, even now that she was gone. Captain had been working to fix the damage since she arrived but sometimes Orestes thought the situation was irreparable. Maybe they all needed to be replaced?

“Sorry, sorry. Shouldn’t have said that,” he raised his paws for surrender and flashed a weak grin. It never worked on Toma but it was a habit. “But back to the topic, anything else I need to know?” Orestes hoped she wasn’t in the mood to argue about it any further and luckily she did seem to let the matter go. That of course didn’t mean she had forgiven him. She never did.

“No thieves so far. But I suppose they’ll be coming out now that it’s night time. No time to mess around tonight,” she replied with a mixture of malice and satisfaction in her tone. Then she turned and left.

Orestes bit his lip in frustration since Toma was probably right. He was still weirdly restless and had been looking forward to getting to relieve at least some of it with one of his clients. Preferably one that liked him rough. Suddenly the Nocturne’s approach to drunks didn’t seem so bad. Maybe he would get a good fight tonight and maybe that might even help. With a defeated sigh he started his rounds along the main pathway, hoping the night would be busy enough to keep his mind away from his frustrations.

Reaching the junction of the main pathways, Orestes took a look around. Everything seemed calm but the wider roads rarely attracted those who would cause trouble. The area was too public and too expensive. Most of the restlessness happened at very specific places, where the cheapest inns and drinking holes were located. He pushed himself up in the air to get a better look at the maze of buildings and stalls that formed the marketplace.

He was not surprised to detect some kind of commotion near Redifra’s _fine_ establishment. The ancient Pearlcatcher served only mushroom beer. And nothing else except the cheapest, green variety. Orestes wasn’t unfamiliar with the swill called mushroom beer. Sometimes you just wanted to get really drunk. But still— Even the idea of that particular nasty liquid that Redifra served nearly made him retch. It made the blue kind seem like drink for the high borns. But the worst part for him was the smell. It smelled exactly like he imagined an already rotting mushroom left to soak in a swamp water for a season or two would smell like. That probably was pretty near to the actual production method as far as he could guess.

Flying closer he could see that the troublemaker was also a familiar face. Kelvan was a Guardian working at the clan kitchens. He went out only about once a month but ended up causing havoc nearly every time. This deep in the marketplace was really no place for a Guardian to be in his dragon form and he caused destruction just by moving around. And he was gathering a crowd of onlookers, both dragon and meihin, some just curious, but most of them were cheering him on as he taunted all the random passersby, getting more and more aggressive as they ignored him. He wasn’t far from lashing out at the crowd around him so Orestes quickly landed and began to make his way through the dragons surrounding Kelvan, instructing them to either get back inside Redifra’s or go home, before he arrested them all.

Kelvan finally spotted him as the crowd thinned a bit. Guard presence always made him more angry. But Orestes knew exactly how to handle him. He walked up to the Guardian.

“Having a good night Kelvan?” He asked in cheery tone.

“You! Guard! You green menace!” Kelvan bellowed, infuriated that his entertainment had been interrupted. He took a mighty swing at Orestes with one of his huge paws but he was way too slow and the Tundra dodged it easily.

“I take that as a yes!” Orestes exclaimed with a smile as he carefully situated himself as far away from the still lingering spectators as he could in the tight space. The worst possible mistake you could make with Kelvan was to retaliate. Just few more swings and he would become docile as a Grasslands Trunker. But if you fought him back he would keep going until he passed out. Orestes had learned that the hard way. He would have liked to see Toma and Kelvan duke it out some day but the Guardian had an impeccable timing and always fell as his responsibility. Like now. _You just had to. Just when I started!_ But it was probably better that way if he was completely honest.

Kelvan took a few more shots at him and then, as usual, calmed down. Orestes went up to him and patted him on one of his hefty arms, about as high as he could reach.

“About done there now?”

“Ooooh, green Guard Tundra, it’s you,” he slurred. “Where did you come from?” he asked, like he always did. He was a bit disoriented after his drunken episodes. The rest of the conversation went according to the same pattern too, every single time. Kelvan was the most predictable dragon Orestes had ever met.

“Same place as always, the Guard post. Now let’s get you home, okay?” He said, starting to make his way towards Kelvan’s home, the place where he escorted the dragon each time.

“Oookay,” the Guardian mumbled, starting to follow after Orestes. Then they walked in silence for a while until Kelvan spoke up. “You know, I’ve never tried a Tundra before.”

“Then you should go and find one,” Orestes replied, rolling his eyes.

“But I’ve one right here!” Kelvan argued.

“You make that point every time and every time my answer is the same, I’m not a Tundra. I might look like one but I’m not.” Orestes was never sure if he should be flattered by the clumsy attempts at hitting on him, or annoyed at the regular harassment. Both felt like appropriate reactions, in a way.

“Oh, you could have fooled me,” the Guardian replied, slogging slowly next to him. “But anyway, you should come see me someday, when you’re not working.”

“I’ll think about it,” he grumbled, like always. Such a tiring routine. It wasn’t like he wasn’t tempted. Not now of course, not when Kelvan was drunk, but he was a decent looking dragon. Orestes’ Tundra form rarely attracted any attention like this and the Guardian’s advances felt weird, no matter how intoxicated he was while making them. But in the end Orestes wasn’t going to reveal his meihin to anyone who wasn’t both able to pay for it, and tight lipped enough to be trusted not to talk about it to others. And Kelvan was neither.

But thinking about wealth, Orestes started to wonder why the troublesome dragon was a customer at Redifra’s. He worked at the clan kitchen and the pay should have been decent. Plenty enough to live on and have a little fun too. Yet he only went out once a month and to the cheapest place available.

“Why do you go to that rotten green beer hole anyway?” He finally asked out loud. Some deviation from their routine at least.

“I’m saving up!” Kelvan declared.

“For what?” Orestes inquired, now curious.

“I’m gonna start my own shop, a deli. It’s gonna be at the stone wall of the marketplace, the best spot!” the Guardian was grinning now, some excitement shining through the eyes that had been clouded by his inebriation just moments before.

“Is that so?” Orestes replied, amused. “Shouldn’t you usually start small, see if it takes off first, and then expand?”

“Maaaybe. But I’m not very patient. If it fails I’ll just have to start over from the beginning. Is not so bad,” Kelvan shrugged.

“You’re not a very patient dragon? Could have fooled me,” Orestes chuckled. Kelvan laughed but didn’t reply and they walked the rest of the way in silence, until they arrived at his lair at the bottom level of the Keep.

“You’re never gonna come and see me, are you?” The Guardian asked, with a sad look in his eyes that took Orestes by surprise.

“Sorry,” was all the Tundra was able to reply. He might have explained, but nothing he could say would have come out right, since at the bottom of it all was always the fact that he just didn’t seem trustworthy.

“Well, is good to know at least,” Kelvan sighed. “I’ll try to not bother you from now on,” he managed a crooked smile.

“As if anyone could manage such promises under the influence of the green mushroom,” Orestes smirked.

“Yeah I’ll still try to fight you. But other than that—” He didn’t finish the sentence, looking away for a while before finally bidding good night and disappearing inside his lair.

 _Well, that was new,_ Orestes thought as he made his way back to the marketplace, wondering idly if Kelvan was actually going to change and if so, would he miss their predictable interactions. The Guardian clearly remembered a lot more about them than he had lead Orestes to believe but he was also absolutely drunk. It really was all a bit too strange for him. And the night was only beginning so best to leave any guessing and opinions for later. He still had a lot of work to do.

———

His night continued pretty much the same. Same old faces, same old ways to handle them. Most could be talked into leaving without much trouble. It really was amazing what a couple of well placed friendly words could do. New troublemakers arrived to the clan from time to time, but learning their behaviours was pretty easy since he had been doing this job for so long now. Orestes wasn’t really one to count passing of time or reminisce about the past, but he had joined the swords for hire, that back then did the Guard’s job, pretty soon after officially becoming an adult. That meant it must have been over 30 years ago already.

Despite some of the _customers_ getting tediously repetitive, he really did like being in the Guard. It certainly was a much more comfortable job than being a gatherer, while still including weapons and fighting, two things he really enjoyed. And he got to meet some interesting dragons. Mostly when they were causing some type of disturbance but talking was usually the way to go, only rarely escalating to actual scuffles. He didn’t mind either way. But not today. He might have been aching for a fight earlier on but the episode with Kelvan had somehow dampened his mood.

At one point he noticed a group of young dragons. Too young to be out at such a late hour. He decided to follow them around a bit. They might have been just kids from the caravan but something about their behaviour felt familiar. Orestes had been out in the streets for much of his childhood and recognized the looks on those lean faces. They were planning something.

There were three of them. The group seemed to be lead by an Imperial who was clearly older than the other two. A tiny Fae and a Tundra followed the bigger dragon around, keeping their eyes on her as much as the surroundings, probably eager to please the more experienced kid who could get them food.

Orestes’ guess turned out to be right. The Imperial and the Tundra started to make a scene in order to make people pay attention to the duo. In the meantime the Fae was swiftly flying around between the adults that had stopped to see what the commotion was a about, looking for carelessly hanging purses. Orestes stealthily made his way towards the Fae who was too inexperienced to divide his attention between the purses and his surroundings. He quietly grabbed the small dragon by his collar, snapping his mouth shut with his other paw before he could alert his friends, and sat down to watch the spectacle the other two were putting up.

“Pretend fight, that’s not a very reliable tactic you know,” he whispered to the Fae struggling in his hold. “Many adults don’t really give a damn about kids fighting. Have you ever thought about starting an actual fight? It’s really easy to get two drunken adults at each other’s throats. Now that one gathers a crowd.”

The Fae slowly stopped moving around and looked up with eyes wide. Orestes removed his hand to allow him to speak.

“Who’re you?” the tiny thing squeaked, crests vibrating nervously.

“I’m the Guard. And who are you?” He asked.

“Are you gonna throw me to prison?” he panicked, ignoring Orestes’ question, squirming with renewed energy.

“No I’m not. You didn’t yet manage steal anything, did you? I can’t throw you in prison if you didn’t break any laws,” he assured the Fae with a smile, leaving out the fact that the clan didn’t even have prison. It was sometimes good to be a little afraid of something.

“So I can go?” The kid asked hopefully.

“After I’ve talked with you and your friends there,” Orestes pointed at the two, who were just finishing up their play fight and had begun starting to look around for their friend. The reactions of the two couldn’t have been more different upon noticing that he had been captured. The Imperial immediately turned around and ran away, while the Tundra charged straight at Orestes, small fangs bared at a snarl she must have thought was really ferocious and scary.

“Miiro stop, he says he just wants to talk!” The Fae on his hands piped up when Orestes dodged the attacking angry ball of fur. Hearing her friend talk the Tundra did stop, sniffing the air with focused expression on her face.

“Okay!” She replied with a sudden smile appearing on her face, leaving no trace of the fury from just seconds ago. “He smells fine Yoni, I believe him.”

It was moments like these that made Orestes wonder if he should try to learn about scents, at least a bit. What did _fine_ even smell like? He might have been tempted to take a sniff of himself if he didn’t already know that he couldn’t smell anything, not unless he was filthy, and that was because then he didn’t smell like himself.

“You two look hungry. How about we go get something to eat first and talk after that?” He said, finally putting the Fae, Yoni, down.

“We don’t have any money,” Yoni muttered.

“That’s fine, I was gonna pay anyway,” Orestes said, eliciting excited smiles from both of the children. “Now come one, I know a place that serves something suitable for both of you.”

“What about Rika?” Miiro asked, looking at the direction where the Imperial had disappeared.

“I think right now she will rather observe than join so let’s give her space for that. She probably won’t be far behind,” Orestes assured both of them.

As he had guessed he could see the shape of the young Imperial, trailing behind them at the roofs of the stalls as Orestes lead her two friends away. He wasn’t sure if he could convince her to join them but he should at least find a way to get some food for her too, before taking these kids to grandma Sunnathy. No one should go hungry like that.

Orestes lead the kids to a stall that sold grilled vegetables and insects. He frequented there himself on nights when he was too busy to take his proper breaks at the barracks. He couldn’t digest insects anymore but he still got the occasional craving for them, that he attributed to missing some of his old favourite dishes. He never had much taste for vegetables before and much preferred insects as Skydancer. In this place he could at least smell those things while munching on his plants.

Cattails were usually pretty bland but this vendor did something magical to make them taste delicious, and he convinced Miiro to try them. Although initially doubtful the younger Tundra ended up liking them so much that Orestes eventually gave her some of his too.

Yoni was eating blue crickets. The pile of discarded pieces of harder shell parts next to him kept growing. He had tried to eat everything at first, despite being too young to properly chew the hard parts, reluctantly stopping only when Orestes promised to buy him more if his plate became empty. Both of them had obviously been really hungry for a long time.

“Okay then, first thing’s first, how did you end up here?” He asked them when worst of their hunger had been satiated.

“We hid in the caravan,” Miiro replied between bites. “They had no food though, just clothes and stuff. You can’t eat clothes.”

“And where are you from?” They probably didn’t know but it cost nothing to ask, just in case they did.

“I’m from Ekatenia!” Yoni spoke up, raising his crests up in attention.

“Ekatenia? Where is that?” Orestes had never heard of the place and the Faes green eyes didn’t really mean anything as hatchlings were abandoned all over. He himself had clear eyes but didn’t remember one single thing about the icefields. Arcane lands were his home as far as he was concerned.

“It’s in the green place, with the big tree lady,” he grinned brightly.

“Gladekeeper? So Ekatenia is in Viridian Labyrinth,” he confirmed. Seems the eyes were right in this case. “And you?” he continued, turning to Miiro.

“I don’t know. But I have red eyes! Rika said it meant I came from the sick land. But I’m not sick. I’ve never been sick. Not even once!” The Tundra huffed, obviously offended at the idea. Orestes chuckled.

“Red eyes mean you’re from the Scarred Wastelands. They’re also called plague lands so that’s probably where your friend got the sick land. She didn’t mean you’re sick,” he assured her. _At least I hope she didn’t?_ That seemed to calm her down, so Orestes continued. “Now, you two have couple of options. First one is to keep stealing and end up getting banished once you’re caught.” Then he turned to Yoni. “And the day guard is a scary one, you don’t want to mess with her. She _will_ throw you into prison,” Orestes widened his eyes for dramatic effect.

“That doesn’t sound like a nice option,” Yoni said hesitantly.

“It’s not. The other option you have is that you let me take you someone. A dragon everyone around here calls grandma, but her name is Sunnathy. Now, she can be a bit strict. She will give you rules and curfews, and puts you to school, but she will also feed you and give you a place to stay.”

“What’s a school?” They both asked almost in unison.

“It’s a place where you go every day to learn things, like reading and counting things, or maps and history.” Orestes answered. “Some like it, some hate it, but that’s what you would have to do,” he shrugged. He hadn’t been the biggest fan of school himself but he did love books and appreciated being taught how to read. “And also you have to stop stealing.”

“What if we just don’t get caught?” Yoni asked defiantly.

“Oh you will be caught, I can guarantee that. You’re not very good thieves.”

“How would you know?” His face was now sullen and his crests ruffled.

“Because I was much better at it. And you, my boy, have no talent,” Orestes answered bluntly, hoping these kids would never even have to become good at thieving.

“You’re a thief?” Miiro gasped, looking shocked. “But you’re a guard!”

“I _was_ a thief. But I’m not anymore. Haven’t been in a long time.” He sighed before continuing. “You’re given a second chance here. I suggest you take it.”

The two were considering his offer in silence when suddenly Miiro’s head jerked up.

“It’s Rika! I can smell her.”

“There,” Orestes subtly pointed at a rooftop nearby after looking around a bit. Then he dug some coins from his purse and handed them to Miiro. “Why don’t you go get a few more of those cattails and take them to her? She must be as hungry as you were.”

“You can give her my crickets too,” Yoni offered when she came back with her purchase, sliding his plate still about half full of the insects towards the Tundra. “I’m full already.”

Orestes watched with a slight smile as the Tundra’s face lit up at her friend’s offer. They both obviously cared a lot about the Imperial. He hoped she would eventually come around but she had a look of someone who had been on the streets far longer than her companions. Depending on her experiences it might be difficult to get her to trust anyone.

“We’re all going to come with you to this grandma, just wait here!” Miiro promised.

Orestes watched her grab the insects and the cattails and fly up to the rooftops. Rika didn’t run away but seemed to keep a safe distance. They talked for a while but it quickly seemed to escalate into an argument. In the end the Tundra laid the food down and flew back.

“She doesn’t trust my nose,” Miiro was nearly crying when she reached the ground. “Said I smell friends everywhere because I’m too gab— glub— gullible!”

“I think Rika is very scared,” Orestes murmured, placing his paw gently on the back of the upset girl. “I’m sure she will regret saying it once she’s had some time to think about things.”

 _Oh goodness,_ Orestes thought, his body stiffening when Miiro wrapped her paws around him and started to sob. He really had no idea what to do with crying children so he just patted her back and hoped it was enough comforting for the situation. He could talk but hugging and things we’re out of his fields of expertise.

“I know it’s unfair to ask this of you,” he started once her sobs started to calm down, “but I need you both to take care of your friend as much as you can. Don’t let her do anything stupid.” Orestes had a feeling that this was the last chance for the Imperial girl and if she got herself banished from Pergamon Keep that would be it. Thieving and other crime would be the rest of her life. These two were just kids but they had the best chance of getting through to Rika. “I’m going to talk to grandma so she will allow you to take food to her and you can come and find me at the Guard post if you need help, okay?”

Two pairs of unblinking eyes stared at him and then solemnly nodded in agreement. It seemed they understood the importance of what he had said.

“Alright then. If you’re done eating I’m going to take you to grandma now,” he said, starting to lead them away from the marketplace, towards Sunnathy’s place at the second floor of the Keep.

They hadn’t walked that far when both of the children had started to get so sleepy that Orestes had ordered them to climb on his back. It would have been quicker to fly but things at the marketplace seemed to be relatively calm at the moment and the short respite offered by walking was welcome. It also gave Rika better opportunity for following them, like Orestes suspected she was going to do.

He headed to the main entrance and from there took the stairs up to the second floor’s residential area. The location was ideal as it was very close to the schools of both the clan and the Aurigae, but also the huge main library. Many craftsdragons also had their shared workshops on that floor, and were more than happy to provide apprenticeships to the orphans, once they were old enough.

Orestes knocked on Sunnathy’s door. Someone was always up during the night, usually Sunnathy herself. The Spiral didn’t seem to need much sleep at all. That turned out to be the case tonight too.

“Orestes,” she smiled upon opening the door and seeing him. She always greeted her children warmly. Then she saw that he had something on his back. “How many?”

“Two. But there’s a third one out there, an Imperial. Probably not far behind us.”

“Wait here, I’m going to get Leleina.” She disappeared inside for a moment and came back with a sleepy looking Snapper. “You take the Tundra, I will carry the Fae,” Sunnathy instructed her and they lifted the young ones off Orestes’ back, bringing them inside. He waited until she came back outside once a again to relay the rest of his information.

“So, this third one— skittish?” Sunnathy asked, settling in a tangle that left her head roughly on his eyelevel.

“Very much so. She’s older than these two and looks to have been through worse so I’m not sure she’ll come willingly. Might be a lost cause to be honest,” Orestes admitted. He didn’t have to be delicate now that the other two were out of earshot.

“You didn’t come willingly either. Yet here you are, doing just fine. And member of the Guard no less!” She exclaimed.

 _Me? Doing fine?_ Orestes had to hold in a bitter laugh. But of course Sunnathy didn’t know about any of it. He had never opened up to her. But she had been right in that he hadn’t come voluntarily.

“Well, I did promise the kids that we would do what we can to help her, so—,” he shrugged. “They’re gonna need a bit of freedom to sneak out and take food to her, to keep her from having to steal at least. Can you do that?”

“Of course. You know I’ll always bend the rules if there’s a good reason,” she reminded him. Then, with a vague smile dancing on her lips, added more softly, “You went and promised them that, huh?”

“Whatever it takes to get them out of there,” Orestes coughed, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Less work for the Guard in the future.”

“You really do have a kind heart Orestes. I don’t know why you insist on projecting this selfish and uncaring image to the world,” Sunnathy frowned slightly, crossing her arms.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he answered, a bit more gruffly than he meant to. Then he pasted a smile on his face. “Anyway, my shift is not nearly over yet so I must take my leave. See you the next I find more of these troublemakers?”

“You do know that you can always come and talk to me if you need?” she attempted one last time. It wouldn’t have been grandma Sunnathy if she didn’t at least try.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” He heard her sigh as he turned away and took up to the air. No walking this time.

Orestes knew she cared about all her children, even him. The problem Orestes had with grandma Sunnathy was that he didn’t really feel like he actually was one of her children. He had been too old when he arrived to Pergamon, banished from the clan where he had originally been abandoned to. She had tried her best but he had fought her, every step of the way.

The generosity she had shown towards him had felt too suspicious. Now he understood that it really was genuine but back then it had felt alarming that nothing was demanded from him in return. When the first high born had approached him on the streets, offering things in exchange for something they wanted from him, Orestes had felt more at ease. It was the way things worked, wasn’t it? No one gave anything for free. Not even in here, no matter what the old Spiral tried to claim.

She had bent so many rules for him, covering up his constant mishaps, or begging for another chance from the Matriarch when she couldn’t. She had done so much and he was grateful, especially for forcing him to attend school. But this feeling of alienation was something Orestes couldn’t help. Sunnathy belonged to his old life and that life and those memories belonged to someone else. They were life and memories he had lost any right to, the moment he gave up on turning back to what he had been. He wondered if it would have been different if he had been younger. Or if he hadn’t been cursed and could have stayed as a Skydancer. But in the end thinking about those things was useless. Not his life, not his responsibility.

He tried to push a strange and lingering sense of guilt out of his mind as he surveyed the marketplace from the air. He was hoping that things had stayed quiet there, and would continue to stay so, as there was still time for him to conduct some other business tonight. But of course hoping for such things cast a hex on the wish. And sure enough, there was more trouble, trouble that Orestes nearly missed it at first until finally his attention was drawn to something quiet and out in the open.

A Ridgeback was standing absolutely still at one of the main pathways, eyes fixed to nothingness. Based on the length of its nose Orestes judged it to be a male but that was pretty much all he knew about the breed. They weren’t that common a sight at the Keep. Traffic had decreased to a mere trickle at this hour but the few pedestrians still out circled the motionless figure around from as far as possible. There was no discernible reason to do so but Orestes had to admit there was something thoroughly disturbing about the whole thing. The way he just stood there like statue was creepy.

Suddenly the dragon blinked and started to sway. _Another one drunk on green mushroom beer?_ Orestes wondered as the spiky dragon took some unsteady steps forward. Then something seemed to snap inside the Ridgeback’s head as he opened his mouth to a terrifyingly loud scream that revealed rows of razor sharp teeth, meant to efficiently tear into any kind of sea creature. The sigh made Orestes shudder.

He kindled a small hope that this one might still turn out to be harmless as he really didn’t want to fight a Ridgeback. He had practiced with captain enough to know just how difficult that kind of battle would be for him. But tonight appeared to be cursed as the dragon raised its spines up and ran straight at the nearest stalls, pushing them over with his immense weight, then continuing to pound them with his tail. Orestes immediately landed near the dragon and tried to get its attention.

“Hey! You there! What the heck are you doing?” He yelled. That didn’t work so he picked up some pebbles from the ground and tried to aim them at the Ridgeback’s face. Most of them missed but each hit seemed to register on some level as the dragon at least flinched. Then finally, after about half a dozen strikes it stopped and turned to look at the Tundra, a pair of wide and wild eyes trying to focus and assess the disturbance.

“What exactly are you doing?” Orestes repeated his question with sharp and clear intonation now that he seemed to have his attention.

“My duty!” The drunk replied, shaking his head in confusion. “I’m honour bound!”

“Honour bound to whom?” the guard tried to ask, to start a conversation and maybe still end this whole thing without violence, but the Ridgeback ignored him.

“Why did you send this little brother to me?” He complained loudly, raising his head to look up. Orestes glanced up too but there was nothing there, just the upper levels and the darkness beyond that. “I need a worthy opponent. I will fight for you!” The dragon continued his rant, oblivious to the lack of anyone listening. Things weren’t going anywhere but the Ridgeback did seem to be looking for a fight.

 _So that’s how it’s going to be,_ the Tundra groaned silently and took up to the air, looking for the best angle to approach the constantly moving dragon. He knew the owners of those stalls, some well off and seriously entitled traders, and could guess that they would all be at the Guard post tomorrow, demanding compensation for _Guard negligence_ . Even though captain was, no matter her other qualities, always fair and ready to defend her subordinates, this time was different. The Ridgeback was causing such a huge amount of damage that she just might be happy to offer them his head on a pretty little plate. Or maybe on a cocktail stick. Because that what he felt like right now, just a little snack for both this rampaging beast and captain herself. _I hope I at least taste bitter!_ He thought as he drew his sword.

Orestes circled around the Ridgeback, looking for any openings. The dragon was moving erratically, but despite the lack of any kind of tactic or pattern that he could discern, the spined tail always seemed to be exactly at the place where he tried to dive in. He couldn’t really afford to get struck by it, not even once. If that tail damaged his wings that was it. Orestes knew he was as close to useless at the ground as one could be.

All the Tundra had really managed to do so far was to draw him away from stalls, preventing any more damage there. It was a start but he had had a long night already while the other dragon showed no signs of getting tired. And he wasn’t even sure what was he supposed to do. He was way too small to knock the larger dragon unconscious so the only other options he had were either to severely wound or to kill him. Both seemed like unjustifiably harsh consequences for simply getting drunk on a batch of bad beer, but on the other hand his duty was for the dragons that lived in the Keep. Protecting them and the peace always came first.

After a frantic survey of the area for anything he could use, Orestes had to come to a conclusion that there was only one thing he could do. It wasn’t ideal and it definitely wasn’t something he wanted to do as it included a great risk of injury, for both of them, but there were no other options.

With a curse for _all_ Ridgebacks on his lips he flew a bit further ahead on the wide pathway and then stopped midair when he judged his position to be adequate for what he needed. Flying in place wasn’t easy but during the years he had learned to be somewhat decent at it. It was useful for when he needed a clear view of hs surroundings, but right now he just needed to stay on the eyelevel of his opponent.

“Can’t even catch one small Tundra, can you?” He taunted, trying to anger the dragon further. “Your master must be so proud!”

The insult seemed to have the opposite effect of what he intended. The Ridgeback stopped and seemed to return to his original, unmoving state. Then he slowly turned his head towards Orestes, eyes clear and frighteningly— _sane._

“They’re coming,” he spoke in a voice that was surprisingly quiet compared to the earlier yelling. It was a brief moment but Orestes finally noticed that his eyes a were a deep shade of blue.

 _He’s— he’s not drunk? He’s having a vision!_ Then the Ridgeback again lost it and charged straight at Orestes, barely leaving him time to think before he needed to react and execute his plan. He folded his wings and allowed himself to drop to the ground. It was quite a drop but he hadn’t the leisure of checking if everything was still intact as he needed to curl into a ball and brace for impact, fast. _Shit,_ was the last word on his mind before the huge dragon reached him, legs tripping at the grouching Tundra and sending him flying.

It took a while for Orestes to recover. When he opened his eyes he saw shapes of lanterns swaying in the wind. It looked pleasant until he realized that there was no wind inside the Keep. He tried to shake his head, only to realize it was resting solidly against the gravel path. Feeling more of the rocky substance on top of him he started to panic. Then he realized the gravel wasn’t on top of him, but under. He was lying on his back.

Now oriented, he first rolled onto his side and then slowly got on his feet, sight steadying along the way. He had been struck pretty bad but the lanterns above the path had stilled and he was getting his feet back under him. He felt safe in assuming no permanent damage had been done.

Then Orestes looked around and saw the Ridgeback, slumped to the ground next to a solid stone wall of the marketplace. His plan had worked. The spot from where he had taunted the other dragon was just in front of the wall. The high cave opening to the kitchen and pantries on one side, and the large window of a luxury textile shop on the other had been enough to trick the agitated dragon to think he had a free roam of the area. There had been no way to avoid hitting that wall once his trajectory had been locked and he had tripped on the smaller dragon.

He limped slowly to the unconscious Water dragon to make sure he had survived the stumble as well. The impact had knocked him out cold but other than that he seemed to be fine, chest rising in steady rhythm.

“I hope you wake up to the worst headache of your life tomorrow,” Orestes grumbled to the dragon and poked his face. Then he made his way to the nearest still open establishment and drafted a couple of bigger dragons to carry the Ridgeback to the sobering cells. It was in theory their duty to help the Guard when needed, but in practice Orestes found it easier to just pay the dragons, either with drinks or some coin.

Once the Aurigae healer had made sure the unconscious dragon was indeed alive and well, and that the guard himself wasn’t seriously injured, Orestes finally allowed himself to slump to the ground. He was exhausted and everything hurt. Any thought of seeing one of his clients had disappeared and all he could think about was his own bed and all the soft pillows on it.

It was still hours till the dawn and the end of his shift. The marketplace had calmed down which was lucky as he wasn’t going to be able to handle any more encounters tonight. His mood was too sour for the diplomatic approach to the troublemakers and even the idea of fighting at this state was just ridiculous. _Maybe I’ll do those outside rounds after all,_ he thought. There should be no trouble there. It was freezing cold and he would feel the bruises even worse the next day, but he realized with some satisfaction that captain would then have to step in and handle his next shift. _Oh, that is perfect actually. Let her handle this shit once in awhile! Such an unreasonable breed..._


End file.
